10.30.2011

Words from my Korean friend flash upon my mind tonight: 'If you think Spring is amazing, you have to see autumn. Autumn is the best season during a year' and now, i prove it. The atmosphere of autumn really killing me with its beauty and joy, The bright clear blue sky, the wind blowing gently, the foliage change it color and even when these leaves fell down to the earth, they still keep their own beauty. This season really impressive for me (well, except the mid-term exam period of course).

Our Indonesian Traditional Dance Group (Kelompok Tari Tradisional Indonesia-KTTI) was participated in an event organized by Arirang TV called Bravo! ASEAN 2011. It is kind of a music and dance contest for ASEAN residents in Korea to promote fellowship and cultural exchanges between people of ASEAN and Korea (it is what they said on their website anyway)

So, on the last weekend we did the preliminary audition with demonstrated Indang Dance from West Sumatera. I think me and my friends had same nervous level during the contest because there was judges watched our performance and it aired by Arirang TV Network. Oh my...

We did it well anyway for preliminary although we made some mistakes occured during our performance :( We got the result on last Tuesday and it said that we passed the preliminary and it means we go to final!!! Alhamdulilah. Now, our main job is preparing our dance as best as we could because we have to compete with other 12 competitors in final on the next month. So dear fellows, please support us by giving some money for us to buy lunch during our practices. Hahahaha! No, just joking (i don't mind tough if you really wanna give it. Hahaha!)

Anyhow, please just wish us a huge luck for this competition. FIGHTING!! ^^

10.21.2011

Hoaaahm, i supposed to wake up earlier to go to lab today, but i just woke up at 8:00 am and now still spending my time facing into my computer. Anyway, last night i went to one 'must place to visit in Korea' (Other foreigners say like that in their testimonials) called Jimjilbang (찜질방), Jimjilbang is an extremely popular place in here, a large, public bathhouse or can be called as Korean sauna. Wonhee, my Korean labmate and i went to Happy Day Jimjilbang not too far from Guui-office subway station at line 2. You can take exit no. 4 go straight, turn left in intersection and walk around 50 meters.

The jimjilbang is open for 24 hours, so you can literally stay there all day and all night as you wish. Like one of my friend, he's studying in one university out of Seoul, and sometimes he go to Seoul for hang out on weekend and if he late to catch a bus on night, he will just stay in Jimjilbang while waiting the first bus is coming. Hehehe. Anyway, Wonhee and I stayed there for about 3 hours! The entrance fee here after 8:00 pm is 10,000 won including a towel, t shirt and pants (Every Jimjilbang has different price based on the services). We could decide if we wanted to pay for extra services once we got inside. Thanks God, it's weekday and just few visitors. The building was massive with several rooms, we went to Women's sauna first at 3rd floor, go to the locker, put our shoes in it and then take the key bracelet. I like these kind of locker, sooo convenient! Then, we went to another locker to put our stuff and changed our clothes.

Sorry, no more pictures, it's not allowed to bring your camera inside. My first impression if i go here alone was i need a directory paper or a guide to bring me around; EVERYTHING'S IN KOREAN!!! wih my poor ability to understand Korean, it's so convenient come here with one of my Korean friend. Hehehe. We decided to start with lay down in the heated salt sauna room, after 20 minutes felt like pot roast, we continued to Bamboo's room, it's kind of cooling room with a real bamboo's decoration covering whole room. I like this one and fact that's no other visitors on that room. kkk, i almost fall asleep there when Wonhee took me to relaxing room where people watch Korean soap opera or a baseball match. In here you can also buy snacks in snack bar or vibrate yourself on an electric band thingy for 1,000 won.

We tried almost every sauna rooms with different temperatures and treatments. We entered one sauna with a dried herbs hanging in sacks and watched a Baseball match, even i couldn't understand its game's rules :P. By the way, i think staying in a sauna like this is a good way for me to get sweat, since my body has a problem with perspiration and too hard to sweating even i do exercise like running in treadmill for about half hour, it's still hard for me to keep sweating. And it's one of my excuse why i'm too lazy to take a shower even once a day. Hehehehe.

We ended our time into a body scrub or bath area room and it completely an open area!! Then get a body scrub and massage after soaking. Wonhee and i soaked in a hot baths for several minutes which was about 80 degrees! All the hot baths has like kind of bubling water shooting out and jacuzzi style. So relaxed to feel a powerful burst of water on my back and neck. Then i tried a body scrub, Wonhhe brought an exfoliating gloves to removed our dead skin. If you read a comic book about a mom and daughter scrubbing themselves one each other, that exactly i'd done with Wonhee. Hehehe. and i never seen so much dead skin come off the body!

After whole these treatments, we dry off, and i was completely soothed and relaxed. In fact i never been get into a bathroom as long as like this. It could be my new record to spent more than 1 hours in public open bathroom.

Now, the silly part, i took a subway to went back, since it takes about half hour from Guui office station to Ewha, i fell asleep and yeah i missed my stop until Hapjeong which is 3 stations further from my stop! Geeeeee,, why i always missed my stop no matter where i am! It also happened when i went to Korean embassy in Jakarta, i supposed to get off at Depok train station but then i found myself woke up at last stop : Bogor train station. What the...

10.12.2011

October 9th in Korea celebrated as Hangeul day. It is to honors 15th century invention of Hangeul by King Sejong, the fourth king from Joseon Dynasty. Hangeul itself is the alphabet in Korean language, consist of 24 consonants and vowels.

Me, Indri and the twin Yunita and Yunisa went to Gwanghwamun Square to visited King Sejong Museum and participated in hangeul writing experience. You can reach Gwanghwamun Square by subway in line 5 and get off at Gwanghwamun Station. The museum itself was built in underground between the main road. It explains the king's life and his cultural contribution. In exhibition hall, we tried Hangeul writing experience and we didn't see any foreigners took a part in this event, just a lot of kids with their parents and of course, us, hehehe, no one as excited as us i guess and we had to queue up with kids around. So then after queue up, a man gave us a piece of thin paper which stamped with picture of King Sejong and a brush as medium to write.

Talking about writing, i think all of my friends know one of my weakness is writing. It seems like i was born without any writing skill, my written is just.... so ugly, small and roundish *sigh.... Truly, you might be laugh when you see my hand-written. And yeah, it also happened when i tried to write in Hangeul. It's been around 8 months since i'm learning Korean language including Hangeul, but as you can see, it still... like my crabbed hand-written as well T_T

Anyway, after we finished our 'Masterpiece' the committee facilitated to send it to your hometown as yeah, it's for free!! Yippieee, we always love anythings for free! And since we knew could send it for free, we tried again once more, Hahaha!! again, queue up with kids and waited until a committee asked us to sit and start writing. Hehehe.

Remorsefully, i didn't take many picture since i ran out batteries in my camera :( so baaaaad!!! I even couldn't take picture of giant King Sejong statue. Well, still be next time to visit Gwanghwamun anyway i hope. :)

Entrance of Gyeongbokgung and Bukak Mountain as background

You can display your 'masterpiece' here with others from various countries

10.07.2011

Not a super picture, i just try to captured an event when sun goes down from my building and umm, i think i did it not really well because i failed to capture it a step by step until sun really goes down. But truly, a moment when sun goes down in everywhere always amazing for me :)

10.05.2011

I've got a sweet surprise in my mailbox when i arrived at my dormitory last night. A parcel from Indonesia!!! I saw sender's name and it's from my friend, Lanjar Wijiarti!! Gosh, i couldn't stop smiling while opened that parcel because i thought i knew what it is and ya, Lanjar sent me our favorite comic book that usually we read together: Hi Miiko and a small pack of Keripik Talas!! What a surprise!! Lanjar, you really know how to touch my heart :')

Last month we chatted via Yahoo Messenger and she notified me about the newest serial of Hi Miiko and i was so hysteric!! Usually i asked my sister to buy it for me and completed my comic books collection but i don't remind her yet. Then Lanjar asked my mail address here and said to not buy it but i never thought if she's really sent it for me!!! Because to send a parcel from Indonesia to Korea is really expensive even for a small stuff like postcard! So i could imagined how expensive it is.

Dear friend,without any unspoken words you reminded me again meaning of a friendship. Thank you Njare :)

Side by side or miles miles apart, a dear friend always close to the heart.

10.03.2011

And finally, the last performance for this event!! We started at Namsangol Hanok Village and performed 3 dances then moved back to National Theater for closing ceremony and performed Indang dance on the evening. By the way, yesterday, accidentally i burnt my foot on the second rehearsal. We started second rehearsal around 10 pm and i didn't know if the stage could be so hot and stupidly i opened my shoes and socks then practices with bare foot. Ouch! But weirdly, i couldn't feel the pain during performances but after that, don't asking me how hurt is it. Hehehe. Oh, and i'm became too lazy to took pictures on the third day --" So here it is some of pictures on our last performance in Seoul International Folklore Festival (Well, actually there's no pictures during our performance, right? hehehe. So these are showed pictures after our performance ^^~)

10.02.2011

Today we performed 4 dances, so many right? Actually yesterday we supposed to performed 4 dances, but the committee reduced it into two without any clear reason --" But since we've got good response from the audiences, today they asked us to perform 4 dances! So today, we have Tempurung, Bambu Anak Raja, Kipas and Indang dances. I was performed Indang dance today, it's a traditional dance from West Sumatera and it's kind of masculine dance, start from the custom, movements and music. That's why it's full of spirit with fast movements. But i totally like it! ^^

10.01.2011

My first performance with Indonesian Traditional Dance Club (Kelompok Tari Tradisional Indonesia) in Seoul International Folklore Festival at National Theater. Hohohoho! It's been a month after i joined in KTTI. We practiced every Saturday, because since most of us are students, the best time for us to practice is on Saturday. And for this performance, we just practiced within 4 weeks for this event! Hehehe.

It's been a long time since i practiced traditional dance again, actually i practiced traditional dance too before. When i was child, i was so disobedient, stubborn and rough (i even bitten my friend's ear when we fought!). To change me into a real little girl, my mom registered me into one traditional dance academy until i went to middle school (then i stopped it since i was so tired and bored :p). But i think, it's not worked enough, i'm still rough and stubborn. Hehehe.

Anyway, Alhamdulilah our first day performance was great! We performed 2 dances today: Ronggeng Blantek from Jakarta and Enggang from Kalimantan. I really love Enggang's costum! It's so pretty! and when it splashed on sunlight, the custom will be glow! And here it some pictures from our performance, and perhaps in the next 2 days i'm still posting our performance' pictures. Hopefully you're not sick and bored to see it. Hehehe. Enjoy!:D